Garden-cultivator.



No. 635,659. Patented Odt. 24, I899.

J. T. C LARK. GARDEN CULTIVATOB.

(Application filed Dec. 7, 1898.)

(No Model.)

74 a dz: eases JOHN T. CLARK, OF NEAR ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI.

GARDEN-CULTIVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 635,659, dated October 24, 1899.

Application filed December 7,1898. Serial No. 698,542. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN T. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing near St. Joseph, in the county of Andrew and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and usefullmprovementsin Garden-Cultivators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to producea novel garden-cultivator the teeth of which may be laterally adjusted to accommodate different widths of plant-rows while the cultivator is in motion and without the necessity of releasing the handles by means of which the device is guided and steadied.

A further object of the invention is to so organize its structural elements that its form and arrangement may be quickly converted to serve a variety of uses.

To the accomplishment of these objects the invention consists generally in providing a center beam with a head to which are pivotally connected a plurality of pivoted toothshanks laterally spring-actuated in one direction and designed to be actuated in the opposite direction in opposition to the springs through the manipulation of the handles of the cultivator, which are operatively connected to and in the present instance are actually supported by the movable shanks. Additional tooth-shanks are secured to the pivoted shanks, and provision is made for coupling tooth-plow or marker shanks to the extremity of the center beam.

Various other structural details and the several adaptations of my device will be fully described hereinafter and succinctly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of my cultivator in its widest adjustment. Fig. 11 is a similar view of the device in its narrowest adjustment, showing the adj Listing-nuts 27; and Fig. IIIis still another view showing the center tooth replaced by a marker.

Referring to the numerals on the drawings, 1 indicates the center beam of my cultivator, provided at its rear extremity with a coupling 2 and at its front extremity with a clevis 3.

ing their rear ends downwardly curved, as

usual, and provided with ordinary cultivatorteeth 7 and 8, capable of vertical and angular adjustment in a manner well understood in the art.

9 indicates what may be termed a guidebar, fixed atitsIcenter within the center beam 1 by nuts 10, screwed upon the guide-bar against the opposite faces of the beam. The ends of the guide-bar 9 extend through cornparatively large openings 11 in the toothshanks 5 and b and are provided with ter-' minal stops 12 to limit the outward pivotal movement of the shanks under the impulse of springs 13 and 14, encirclingthe guide-bar and bearing, respectively, at their opposite ends against the contiguous faces of the center beam 1 and the shanks 5 and 6.

15 and 16 indicate the upwardly and rearwardlyinclined handles of the cultivator, se-

cured at their lower ends to the shanks 5 and 6, preferably at a point immediately behind the guide-bar 9, and additionally secured by braces 16 and 17, extending from the handle to the shanks, at a point near the rear extremities of the latter.

The device as described may be considered the complete embodiment of my invention in its broadest aspect, since it comprehends a cultivator the teeth of which may be relatively adjusted laterally by the manipulation of the handles while the cultivator is in motion and Without the necessity for releasing the grip upon thehandle, which is necessarily maintained while the device is in use.

The springs 13 and 14 constantly urge the tooth-shanks 5 and 6 apart,-and it is simply necessary to oppose the desired resistance to the resiliency of the springs by a lateral pressure upon the handles to accomplish the desired adjustment of the teeth 7 and 8. Inasmuch, however, as it is desirable in practice to have a greater number of teeth additional tooth-bars 19 and 20 may be fixed at their forward ends to the forward ends of the toothshanks 5 and 6, properly spaced therefrom,

the handles.

If desired, adjustment-nuts 27, extending through the tooth-shanks 5 and 6 and bearing upon the guiderod 9, may be provided for the purpose of fixing the device in any desired adjustment, when constant readjustment of the device is unnecessary-for instance, when it is desired to cultivate a considerable extent of ground over which the planting is uniform.

If a very narrow cultivator is desired, it is simply necessary to remove the outside teeth and their shanks by releasing the shanks and their stays from the inner tootlrshanks and handles, and if it is desired to employ the device as a marker and pulverizer it is simply necessary to uncouple the center tooth shank and substitute therefor the shank of the marker, which serves to properly mark the ground, while the teeth 7 and 8 pulverize the earth on either side of the mark.

While the device as described constitutes the complete and perhaps the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not desire to limit myself to the structural details defined,

' as it is obvious that many modifications might be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention-as, for instance, a greater number of tooth-shanks might be employed or a series of spring-actuated tooth-shanks might be located upon eitherside of the center beam and all be relatively adjusted by the movement of the handles, or several toothshanks might, for instance, be provided with couplings to permit the use of various forms of tooth or shovel plow shanks. I therefore desire to reserve to myself the right to make such changes, modifications, or variations as may come properly within the scope of the protection prayed.

What I claim is 1. The herein-described cultivator, consisting of the wheeled frame, provided with the center beam, the side beams pivoted to said frame, operating-handles secured to said side beams, springs arranged between said center and side beams to press outwardly upon the side beams, and positive means for adjustably limiting the outward movement of said side beams with relation to the center beam, substantially as specified.

2. The herein-described cultivator, consisting of the wheeled frame provided with the center beam, the side beams pivoted to said frame, operating-handles secured to said side beams, the centrally-threaded bracing and guiding bar 9 engaging said center beam, nuts 10 engaging said threaded portion of said bar to secure same in place, elongated slots 11 in said side beams through which the end portions of said bar extend and in which they work, spiral springs surrounding said bar between said center and side beams, and adjustable stops carried by the end portions of said bar for limiting the outward movement of said side beams, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN T. CLARK.

itnesses:

GEORGE W. IIINTON, JOHN F. ARNOLD. 

